Invasion of privacy can result when a person's communications device (e.g., mobile phone, cellular phone, PDA, or the like) is used by another person. For example, when a person's cell phone is lost or stolen, unscrupulous individuals can gain access to the person's business and/or social contacts via information stored on the cell phone (e.g., incoming/outgoing call logs, contact lists, etc.). Conventional technology has addressed such concerns by requiring a primary user of the cell phone to successfully enter a password and/or personal identification number (PIN) before granting the primary user access to information stored on the cell phone.
However, when a communications device is commonly used by more than one person (e.g., in a workplace and/or family setting), intrusion of privacy can result in ways that can lead to mistrust, emotional distress, and/or disharmony between friends, family members, and/or coworkers. Although conventional technology can protect the privacy of a primary user of a communications device by requiring entry of a password/PIN known by the primary user, such protection can breed mistrust and disharmony between other users of the device since it is readily apparent that protection of privacy is required.
Therefore, there is a need to provide systems and methods operable on a multi-user communications device that can protect the privacy of the primary user of the device, without giving an impression that such protection is activated.